I Quit Caffeine: 12/26/08

I read this quote from Brain Connections... as I was trying to understand caffeine's effect on my body... deciding whether it's really time to quit it altogether or not... as I gear up to do some "house cleaning" or "temple cleaning" as it might be...

It probably won't come as a surprise, then, to discover that the human body indeed responds to caffeine as it would a poison—very similarly, in fact, to the manner in which it responds to alcohol. Liver enzymes are called on to assail the caffeine molecules and break them down as quickly as possible.

Reading one of my favorite websites on fasting, Freedom You, I came across a quote that really made me feel more resolute that caffeine must go next... God wants me to be free of addictions and poisons! I'm not helping the process much if I intentionally drink them up! Ugh. Must I be a saint? Well, I suppose I want to do my best, I don't think God will be too displeased if I fail, He loves me too much :) But I want to feel better, have more energy, and eat good food that helps me and doesn't hurt me... so when I read this, I was like, seriously, monkeys know better than I do what's good to eat and what's not? My dog certainly doesn't have such discernment. She would have eaten the whole Christmas ham if given half a chance :)

Monkeys are sensitive creatures. During the Boer War, the enemies of the British often poisoned their food supplies. Soldiers used monkeys to test the food. They chose what to eat by holding the food to their lower jaw and if the food was poisoned, the monkey would throw it away. A natural health practitioner, fascinated by the account, decided to test baboons to see if they had a similar ability. An apple was injected with strong coffee by a hypodermic needle. Two apples were given, the untouched apple was eaten hungrily by one baboon, a second baboon received the injected apple. He held it to his jaw, let out an angry screeching sound then tried to attack the experimenter. When he was given a good apple he went off to the corner and ate happily.